3.11.2013

Laziness and Mysteries

Wow, I have been lazy. No posts since August? Really? I have become good at chasing rabbits and not staying on one trail. I have not made much progress on Harry Applegate. I have learned from another family member that his wife's 2nd husband, whom she married 7 years after Harry's murder, was rumored to also be involved, whether in the "business", the ongoing feud, or the murder of Harry, I do not know.

I have several rabbits I have been chasing involving several members throughout my family. As usual, chasing one rabbit leads to another rabbit, and so on, and so on. So, I think I will begin to focus myself by first listing my rabbits, in no particular order, and pick one at a time, chase it till there's nothing left to be found, then move on - and I need to get better and taking notes about where I have been and where I think I want to go next.

So, here is my current list of Rabbits:

1a. Jacob Jahns - which ship did he come in on? and from where? I have recently found his Declaration of Intention and his Naturalization documents, and of course they are not fully filled out, but at least I now have a better idea of the when. Now its just a matter of digging through the passenger lists to find him.

1b. Jacob Jahns - where/when did he die? He is listed on the 1880 census in Marine, Madison Co, Illinois, and then his wife Caroline is listed in the 1887 St. Louis Directory as "widow of Jacob". I have been unable to find him listed in the cemeteries of Madison Co, the Illinois Death Index, or the Missouri Digital Archives in the death records.

2. How did my grandparents meet? My grandpa, Elmer Adolph Nevala, was from Michigan, stationed in Alabama/Virginia/ New Guinea during the war, and Grandma, Mary Louise Applegate Mcwhorter (1st Marriage - have not found divorce record yet) was from Arkansas, working at the ammunition plant in North Little Rock. The rumor was they met at a USO, but where? It's not like Alabama is next door to Arkansas. I do know that her step-father was also in the army, stationed at Camp Robinson, also North Little Rock, but so far research shows that all those units went to Europe.

Well, those are the rabbits. Hopefully I can at least get to the point where I have exhausted current leads, and then move on to something else. With time, more info may show up.